LA VIE ET LES AVANTURES DE ROBINSON CRUSOË

Paris: Chez la Veuve Panckoucke, An 8 [1799-1800]. 232 x 148 mm. (9 1/8 x 5 7/8"). Three volumes. Translated by Themiseuil de Saint-Hyacinthe and J. Van Effen, revised and corrected according to the Stockdale edition of 1790. With a life of the author by A.-G. Labaume.
SPLENDID INDIGO STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT, BY SIMIER (vol. I stamp-signed in gilt at foot of spine), covers with elegant botanical frame, raised bands, compartments with quatrefoil centerpiece radiating floral tools on a densely stippled ground, gilt lettering, turn-ins with cresting roll, red watered silk endleaves, all edges gilt. With portrait frontispiece in volume I, three engraved title pages with vignettes, a folding map of Crusoe's voyage, and 15 plates after Stothard engraved by Delvaux, Delignon, and Dupréel, all before letters, with original tissue guards. A Large Paper Copy. Front flyleaves of volume I with orange morocco bookplate of Henri Beraldi, engraved armorial bookplates of Merlin d'Estreux de Beaugrenier, ex-libris of Arnaud Leenhardt, bookplate of R. C. G. de Pixerécourt, and armorial bookplate of Alexis de Redé. Cohen-de Ricci 406 (recording 18 engravings); Brunet II, 566 (calling for 16 engravings); Blewett, The Illustration of Robinson Crusoe (1996); Reynaud, "Notes supplementaires sur les livres a gravures du XVIIIe siecle," 188. ◆Isolated spots of foxing or minor marginal stains, but A CHOICE COPY, fresh and clean internally, the plates in fine condition, and THE SPARKLING BINDINGS ENTIRELY UNWORN.

Printed on Large Paper and with all plates before letters, this is an outstanding copy of Defoe's beloved masterpiece in a French edition praised by Brunet and Cohen-de Ricci for its beauty, and enhanced here by an elegant binding from one the three great French binders of the Empire and Restoration periods; what's more, the volume's considerable desirablility is affirmed by an impeccable provenance. The illustrations here are based on those of the prominent English artist Thomas Stothard which appeared in the 1790 edition published by John Stockdale. Blewett says the Stothard images represent "the first pictorial treatment of Robinson Crusoe as a progress," from frightened young castaway to an industrious, resourceful, resilient man. The plates were re-engraved for this edition, and supplemented with a map and a portrait of the author. The binder of this set was praised by our former owner Henri Beraldi (see below) for binding books "with extreme magnificence." Beraldi hailed Simier's work ethic and declared that he surpassed "all the most beautiful things the English [binders] have done." Like Beraldi, Ramsden considered René Simier (1772-1843) one of the three great French binders of the Empire and Restoration periods (Thouvenin and Purgold are the others). From 1809-12 he was apparently binder to the Empress Marie Louise, and in 1826 he and his son, Alphonse (who carried on the family business), were listed in the Almanachs as "Binders to the King, Madame, and the Duc de Bordeaux." Simier's "variety and technique were superb; he had no superior and few rivals during his career." And his range was unequaled: "there appears to [have been] no style, old or new, of which he could not make himself an easy and competent master." (Ramsden) The earliest owner of our set was the playwright and theater director René-Charles Guilbert de Pixerécourt (1773-1844), whose Paris production of Robinson Crusoe ran for the whole year of 1805. Later owner Henri Beraldi (1849-1931) was perhaps the most distinguished and knowledgeable writer on French bindings of the 19th century. His collection of French illustrated books and French bindings was considered to be among the very best in the world. The outstanding condition here reflects the exquisite condition that characterized Beraldi's library. In the 20th century, this superb set attracted the very discerning eye of Baron Alexis de Redé (1922-2004), considered one of the century's greatest aesthetes. In addition to his talent for interior design (displayed in his painstaking restoration of the 17th century Hôtel Lambert, for which he was named a Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) and for banking (he successfully managed the funds of the Rolling Stones), Redé was a prominent Parisian socialite known for his opulent galas and acquisition of beautiful objects. He was quoted as saying "All I want is the best of everything, and there's very little of that left." The 2005 sale of his collections at Sotheby's included 18th century French furniture, art, porcelain, glass, and the productions of silversmiths and goldsmiths in addition to fine books, realizing, in all, €5.1 million ($6.8 million)..